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Why Nathaniel Ru Founded Sweetgreen

College Kids Take On The World

After graduating from the Business School of Georgetown University, Nathaniel Ru and his college buddies wanted to do something big. They decided they would create their own restaurant and that is when Sweetgreen was born. Today, Sweetgreen is a fast food chain with stores in more than 40 locations. This is the first time co-founder Nathaniel Ru has opened up a business, but all signs point to Sweetgreen seeing a future of smashing success.

Shaking Things Up

Nathaniel Ru is on a mission to change the way the fast food industry operates and the way that we think about fast food. Much of this is achieved through the menu of Sweetgreen. Instead of burgers and fries customers are served healthful salads and other meals designed to provide nutrition. The menu of Sweetgreen is seasonal and changes based upon the time of year. There are some menu items you will find in the summer, but you will never see those items in the winter. This isn’t just another gimmick to lure in customers. It is intended to provide relief to farmers that provide Sweetgreen with its crops.

A Higher Goal In Mind

Ru’s ultimate goal for Sweetgreen is for the restaurant to serve the world. Sweetgreen isn’t just a place you go to when you want to eat. It is a gathering place for a community of like-minded people. Essentially, Ru wants to provide patrons with a sort of “tribal” experience. The Sweetgreen tribe is most apparent in the mobile app the restaurant provides. Millennials, the primary targets of Sweetgreen’s marketing, are very big on social media. As a Millennial himself Ru knows this and does just about everything he can in order to help customers achieve that experience.

What Lies Ahead

The future of Sweetgreen looks bright. The restaurant currently holds more than $100 million in revenue thanks to the interest investors have shown in the fast food chain. The idea of Sweetgreen has the potential to change the way we think of fast food and offers a level of staying power rarely seen in any startup. If Sweetgreen can continue to give its customers the sort of healthy food they desire from the company, we might see a revolution in fast food upon us. This is exactly why Nathaniel Ru created Sweetgreen in the first place.